tUmbleweeds

Tumbleweeds

(rap)The government, police, everything is corrupt,All these events, shootings, killings shits become abrupt,I can't take the anxiety and horror no more,I'm scared and this shit is always waiting out my door,Screaming and crying, its becoming the norm,Kids are terrorized before they even born,Here in the states we can't even fathom being oppressed,Just imagine yourself livin' in Syria, that shit's all a mess,Militants shooting left and right out of greed,Governments are the only people that are freed,Poachers and smugglers illegally tuskin',Syrian refugees moving to neighbors and hustlin',Rights, freedom, religion have been taken away,Dead bodies, dead souls, are just left to lay,Tamil tigers terrorizing, militias fighting for,Minerals, power, people and money galore, From Iraq, the Congo, Sri Lanka, and Syria, To mainlands of China, Indonesia, and AfricaStressed, obsessed, and can't even see the light,I wish there was a savior, something that's bright, Before this storm, there was sun and shine,But now everything's outta order, this shits outta line,Please, believe, in the hope and peace,It's the only way we will achieve our dreams.

(chorus)But really, we ain't nothin but a bunch of (song drops) tumbleweedsBlowin' in the windDon't know how to beginWe're tryna find a wayBut are lost inside the dayYou know that we will all,Never quit until we fallSo when will you careDo you think all of this is even fair?

(rap)From past to present, it's been a heavy storm,We cry, we weep, we pray, and we mourn, Then try to rise from our ashes to help eachother,For nationwide peace, may that shit last forever,Hopin' for them to crumble up and die,In the time of an hourglass, we will unify,Grains of sand turn themselves into a rock,Workin' together so that we can stop the clock.

Strike and hammer with all your mustered up might,Shits been for forever since things have ever felt right,Killing Israel, killing a nation, only propelling the frustration,We can't survive for any longer, needing a revelation,Ignorance, fueling the predicaments worldwide,We need to fix these problems, not pushem aside, Religion becoming the new black and white,We can't restart the past, we need to regain our sight,Bystanders are just looking and not stepping up,For this reason our nations are stayin' all corrupt.

(chorus)But really, we aint nothin but a bunch of (song drops) tumbleweedsBlowin' in the windDon't know how to beginWe're tryna find a wayBut are lost inside the dayYou know that we will all,Never quit until we fallSo when will you careDo you think all of this is even fair?

(rap)Like someone is sitting on my shoulders, weighing me down,Shoving, kicking, and pushing me deep in the ground,Weaker and weaker, the days are longer,Ain't nothin' but the god damn "kings" gettin' stronger,Everything is turning to cold marbled stone,My family, friends, neighbors are nothin' but bone,Walking outside is just a cloud of dust,You can feel all the revolting greed and lust.

(chorus)We ain't nothin' but a bunch of tumbleweedsMy anger is just ascendin'This shit feels neverendin'We manage to fight the painHopin' that this phase will waneJust know that we are hereTry to understand our fearAnd we will stand... up

These first couple of lines, as well as other somewhat vague ones about corruption in the government and violence really refer to all of our topics; in the Sri Lankan and Syrian civil wars, people strike out against their governments in an attempt to end corruption, often times leading to the deaths of both citizens and members of the government, alike. The system of mining for conflict minerals is a corrupt one, too; militant groups armed with guns and other weapons force innocent people to work in terrible conditions. Additionally, the fight for religious freedom in the Middle East is a bloody and relentless one, as well. Terrorism in the Middle East is very much rooted in corruption of the government, and in the terrorist groups that form. ISIS is the most recent terrorist group active in the Middle East; they have been killing and killing to seize towns. This has caused many, many citizens to leave their homes and live in refugee camps. Lastly, poaching is also rooted in corruption, oftentimes in governments and police who allow it to go on, knowing full well that they could stop it, and the fight between conservationists trying to defend animals and the poachers trying to make a quick buck off of them is violent. Some conservationists even lose their lives in the fight, gunned down by poachers."just imagine yourself living in Syria, that shits all a mess,"To clarify, there are many issues going on within Syria currently. It has the Syrian Civil War, in which citizens and the government are striking at each other back and forth, it has terrorism, and people are being forced to flee as refugees into neighboring countries."Please, believe, in the hope and peace,It's the only way we will achieve our dreams."In some of the topics we focused on, people are beginning to lose hope of having better lives, or in fixing a situation. But these issues cannot be solved without people joining together to make a statement and make their opinions heard. These issues CAN be solved, but they are only ever solved through action.

Our symbol of tumbleweeds alludes to the individuals who want to change the poor situations going on in the world, but they're individuals in a vast issue. Like tumbleweeds, as individuals, they don't have much effect on their environment; they are blown by the wind. But when many ban together, they can shift great weights, they can make an impact on their world. The individuals don't really know what direction exactly that they want to go in, in order to change things -- they are being pushed by the wind.

This paragraph is about people gathering themselves in the midst, or after oppression subsides for a while. These heavy, negative emotions inspire them, give them a commonality in which to relate to each other with, and unite them together under a single goal to better their lives. "Grains of sand turn themselves into a rock,Workin' together so that we can stop the clock."Sand into rock is a symbol of the strength of people when they unify. Stopping the clock is referring back to the hour glass. Stopping it means stopping the approaching death.

Strike the hammer means retaliating back after being so affected by the issue that it propels them with anger. There's a realization that a significant change must occur soon because ignoring it will not be productive; masses need to gather and unify to defend themselves against the ignorance. The hardships that they are facing are now commonalities and can serve to bind people together. There are a couple of references to religious freedom in the Middle East. "Killing Israel" refers to the religious violence there between certain groups of people, leading to the deaths of many. "Religion becoming the new black and white" is about how these religious factions see each other. One thinks it is entirely correct, while the other is entirely wrong, and vice versa. This religious antagonism extends into governments and creates biases that corrupt.

The chorus is from the perspective of those who know what they want. They know that they want to stand up for what they believe is right and try to improve their lives and those of others, but they need others to join them in order to accomplish anything.

This stanza is about the oppression and tolls that it takes on those who must face it. The "kings" in the fourth line are the oppressors; militant groups, governments, and others. "everything is turning to cold marbled stone,my family, friends, neighbors are nothin' but bone,Walking outside is just a cloud of dust,you can feel all the revolting greed and lust."These lines are speaking of the hopelessness and depression that people feel when living in terrible situations, not knowing how to escape them, nor if their future will hold anything bright.

This variation in our chorus is about reaching out. "just know that we are heretry to understand our fear"This is trying to catch the attention of outsiders, possibly all over the world. And it speaks of the commonality between all of the issues discussed within our song; not many are well-known in the outside world, and they don't have the support that they need from outsiders to help rise against the oppressor.

Our group members had a variety of different topics; all connected to the broader theme of conflict and oppression. These specific topics that are referenced in our song include conservation and poaching in Asia, conflict minerals in Africa, religious freedom in the Middle East, terrorism in the Middle East, the Syrian Civil War, ISIS, and the Sri Lankan Civil War. Each of these topics reflects conflict and/or oppression in some way.

Conservation and poaching reflects it through the back and forth fight between poachers or traffickers trying to make money off of animals and their parts and the conservationists trying to protect them. It can also be said that the animals who are effected by poaching are being oppressed; Some are captured to keep as pets in stressful and unhealthy environments, and taking them or killing them puts pressure on their species as a whole, driving them closer to extinction.

Conflict minerals refers to minerals used in the manufacturing of electronics, such as gold, tin, tantalum, and tungsten. The demand for these minerals has allowed many militia groups in Africa to rise and force their workers or slaves to mine them in unsafe conditions, and for little or no pay. There is conflict for minerals between militia groups all over the Eastern Congo, and the people forced to mine them are oppressed and treated poorly by militia groups.

There has never been any true religious freedom in the Middle East, and this means conflict between different religious groups. At the moment, a large conflict is going on between the Christians and Jews, with the Christians having the upper hand and oppressing the Jews. In the end, they all want the same thing, but these groups still fight to the death to try and gain power.

Most people know about the terrorism going on in the Middle East; groups attacking one another, as well as other countries, and fighting to gain power. The conflict is mostly about control, and terrorist groups will even kill their own people in an attempt to gain control. One of the groups in the Middle East, ISIS, has made the newspapers and headlines all over because of the atrocities that they have done. Their goal is to have their own state and power -- they are threatening and pushing people out of their homes, forcing them to flee to neighboring countries such as Syria.

There have been uprisings by the civilians against their government in Syria, starting in 2011, and sparking the Syrian Civil War. After the uprisings, Syria's government responded with violent and oppressive crackdowns against their citizens. This has been an ongoing conflict in Syria since it began.